


Waking Dream

by Hei



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Reckless use of genjutsu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 01:35:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6732505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hei/pseuds/Hei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>He feels himself fall under the spell of his own genjutsu. It's fragile and his instincts yell at him to end it, but he does not. Instead he smiles at Shisui, seated across from him, one foot dangling in the water.</p>
</blockquote>After Shisui's death, Itachi has trouble coping.
            </blockquote>





	Waking Dream

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno what to say about this. I'm actually kinda surprised there aren't any genjutsu addicts in Naruto though. I'd also like to thank Respectable for editing this for me, even though it was quite late at night for her.

It is dark when Itachi slips out of his room and down the path toward the Uchiha shrine. He has sweet bean rolls, Shisui's favorite. Shisui is gone, but even without a body to cremate, the funeral will not be for several more days. Itachi doesn't know if he will be invited. He doesn't know if he would go even if he were. Shisui is gone, and he doesn't think he could face the clan's suspicions alone. 

Shisui is gone, and with him every chance of saving their family. Itachi does not cry at the injustice of it. He does not allow the weight of expectations to hinder him. He presses forward, because there is nothing left behind. Shisui entrusted his eye and his vision to Itachi, and Itachi will see it through. Even if it kills him, _Shisui's death will not be in vain_. 

As he climbs the steps, he remembers all the times he has come here before. Both alone and with others. He can almost see his younger self playing tag with Shisui, laughing as he wove between the legs of tolerant adults. The shrine has always been central to the Uchiha clan, to their identity. Every major step in an Uchiha's life takes place at the shrine. From naming, to the celebration for an awakened sharingan, to marriage to death. The shrine chronicles generations of lives in perfect, impersonal detail. 

When he gets there though, he cannot bring himself to enter. It feels too final. Shisui cannot be gone. He is too young. _Itachi_ is too young. So he turns around, and wanders the compound. The homes are dark and the streets empty. There is no one out to see him. He half wonders if even the ANBU guards note him wandering aimlessly through the night. 

Eventually, he finds himself by the pier. He can still see scorch marks from his early attempts at mastering katon jutsu. If he closes his eyes, he can almost forget... everything. Itachi places the bean rolls on the weather worn wood. Several are squashed, but for the most part, they remain whole. Not that Shisui would have cared either way. In some things, he was a perfectionist, but not with food. Shisui had always said that taste was all that mattered. 

Itachi closes his eyes, shoving the memories back before they can overwhelm him. He has always been called a genius, told that people would die or kill for a fraction of his gifts. He knows this is true; he has seen it. He is a prodigy, one of the most talented genjutsu masters Konoha has ever had. And he is breaking. He should report this to his commander at the very least. Surrender himself to counselors and medics to neutralize. He knows what a formidable threat he could be. But he cannot bring himself to do it. He may be emotionally compromised, but he is still functional enough. He has too many responsibilities to succumb to insanity. It would be the height of selfishness to abandon Konoha while she still needs him. 

Instead he relaxes against the pier. His hands form signs almost before his conscious mind realizes what he is doing. And for a moment, he knows this is wrong. He should not do this, but he can't help it. It is dangerous, and if he allows chakra exhaustion to set in, he may not be aware enough to even end the illusion. But in this instant, none of that matters. Suddenly, he feels himself fall under the spell of his own genjutsu. It is fragile and his instincts yell at him to end it, but he does not. Instead he smiles at Shisui, seated across from him, one foot dangling in the water. Shisui grins, the moonlight reflecting off his unruly hair. Both his eyes watch Itachi in the half joking, half content way only Shisui ever used. 

Itachi can't help it. He knows this is false, but for once he doesn't care. Instead he turns to Shisui and smiles so widely it hurts. "I've missed you," he whispers, pushing away the slight sense of ridiculousness he feels for talking to an illusion of his dead friend. He is afraid to move closer or touch Shisui. He doesn't know what he'll do once the dream is over and his chakra is gone. 

Shisui laughs. "I've been gone, what, a day? Itachi-chan, you're going soft in your old age." He reaches to grab one of the rolls, but his fingers ghost through it. Itachi ignores that, focusing instead on here and now. For a few hours at least, he can pretend that Shisui is alive and that all is well. 

If Shisui notices Itachi's expression, he ignores it, focusing instead on silly word games and stories about the past. As it gets steadily later, Itachi can feel his focus slipping and his fingers going numb. His back is sore from lack of movement and even Shisui has begun to get restless. Itachi ignores all of that though. Even as the beginnings of chakra exhaustion set in, he cannot bring himself to let Shisui go. 

"Hey, Itachi, Itachi! Wake up!" Itachi blinks slowly to find himself still on the lake, cold bean rolls still by his feet. The wind has blown them around, but none are missing. Shisui kneels over him, his face twisted in concern. "You have to drop the genjutsu, Itachi," he says urgently. "If you keep it up too much longer, you'll run out of chakra." Itachi wants to ask Shisui why he cares. As soon as the genjutsu fades, Shisui will die again, and Itachi cannot bare to let that happen. Shisui is just in his mind, why is he saying things Itachi does not want him to say? He tries to push Shisui away from his face, but he is too tired and too cold to move and instead drifts back to sleep. 

He feels warm hands shaking him more insistently and again opens his eyes, though the effort is draining. His whole body aches and he is so cold he can hardly move. When he sees Shisui's face, he is confused. Shisui is dead, isn't he? Itachi tries to blink the exhaustion away, tries to clear his mind. Shisui is staring at him in fear while he continues to shake Itachi’s shoulders. Itachi wants to tell him not to bother. He is too tired to do anything right now. He also wants to tell Shisui how much he missed him, but he cannot form his thoughts into words. Distantly, he can tell Shisui is trying to tell him something, but Itachi is doesn't understand his words. So instead, he allows himself to fall back to sleep. 

When he wakes up again, it is in the hospital with a splitting headache and only the vaguest recollections of what happened the night before. His mother visits him and speaks a little of Sasuke, but he barely hears what she says. Instead he watches Shisui, standing silently in the corner of the room. His arms are crossed and he has managed to look confident and alive despite the dead blue tint to his skin and the strands of seaweed sticking to his clothes and hair. Itachi knows he is dead, knows that he can't be here. But that doesn't matter. After Mikoto leaves, Shisui walks over, glaring with eyeless sockets. "What do you think you were doing, Itachi?" His voice is muted and upset, but even Itachi can tell there is more relief than anger coloring his words. Shisui spends quite a while explaining all the ways that Itachi's stunt had been stupid, how irritated he was that he would have to spend his afterlife haunting Itachi since Itachi was obviously too stupid to take of himself. But for now, Itachi doesn't care. Somehow, Shisui is still here and still cares, and for the moment, that is enough. 


End file.
